Practice with Illustrator

[cclloyd]

I'm practicing with illustrator. Kind of hard to go from PS to IL, but I'm getting there. Vectors are better.

And on that note, what do you think of my vectorization of the MR header image? (zoom in to see the awesomeness)



If any MR official sees this, feel free to use it

[CrickettGrrrl]

Aaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhhh Illustrator!

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I really love all the depth to Photoshop & have learned a ton recently. I need to learn Illustrator but it's hard going even though I've come to love the Pen Tool in Photoshop.

i tried the tutorial where you make a scratchy pen brush to stroke the lines, but at that point it's like, why not just draw it with a pen & ink and scan it for less effort. It's not something that really needs to be scaleable....

I don't know. Illustrator has me questioning everything now. I tried Artboard which was okay before updates (AB & OS X), now it crashes constantly.

How did you break through the Illustrator "thresh hold"?
Thanks.

[12dylan34]

The way that I learn software (and I've leaned a good amount--After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, ~InDesign) is to find really super hard tutorials that are way above my skill level and google supplemental things that the tutorial doesn't cover. You learn about a lot more stuff that the program can do that way, which is extremely useful when you want to do your own stuff.

Software is best learned by messing around with it, as the OP has with the MR logo. You end up looking for the right button to push, which leads to discovering other cool stuff when you push the wrong button.

[CrickettGrrrl]

Wow, impressive! Thank you, yes, that's how I have been learning PS. Illustrator just seems so much more intimidating and I have been approaching it more fearfully. I'll def have to gear it up. I'm really encouraged by reading about all the people who are self-taught & amazing in digital design.

Sigh, once I get a grip on AI, I'll start thinking about the cool 3D stuff
thanks for the encouragement!

[cclloyd]

Originally Posted by 12dylan34

The way that I learn software (and I've leaned a good amount--After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, ~InDesign) is to find really super hard tutorials that are way above my skill level and google supplemental things that the tutorial doesn't cover. You learn about a lot more stuff that the program can do that way, which is extremely useful when you want to do your own stuff.

Software is best learned by messing around with it, as the OP has with the MR logo. You end up looking for the right button to push, which leads to discovering other cool stuff when you push the wrong button.

That's how I learned PS. I set an image in my head of what I wanted to accomplish, then ended up having to use various tutorials to learn how to do it. Eventually I just searched complicated tutorials and now I know how to use it really well.

The same thing with IL. I am attempting to vectorize some images, and using tutorials along the way. Eventually I will just search some complicated tutorials to do.

[rcurrie]

Originally Posted by CrickettGrrrl

Aaaaauuuuuuggggghhhhhh Illustrator!


How did you break through the Illustrator "thresh hold"?
Thanks.

I teach Illustrator, and the way I do it is to focus almost exclusively on the pen tools and related tools (select+direct select.)

Start with drawing simple curves on a template, then no template, then tracing progressively complex images, then working from a blank page.

Illustrator is not about tools, it's about technique. Here are some of the assignments and links I use:
http://nscad.geneva9.com/1350b/class5.php

[citizenzen]

Originally Posted by cclloyd9785

And on that note, what do you think of my vectorization of the MR header image? (zoom in to see the awesomeness)

The left-hand side of the apple is well done, and there are only a couple of unnecessary control points.

The right-hand "question mark" is not nearly as well executed.

Plus you should "Pathfinder" the white knock-out.

I'll give your work a 'B' grade.

[cclloyd]

I did get rid of the excess white, didn't I?

As for the right part of the apple, I just couldn't get the path to go correctly without the extra anchors, but I did notice the deviations from a perfect path with it.

[citizenzen]

Originally Posted by cclloyd9785

As for the right part of the apple, I just couldn't get the path to go correctly without the extra anchors, but I did notice the deviations from a perfect path with it.

But you did such a good job of it on the left-hand side. The more control points, the greater the chance your curves will flatten out in spots. Just remove any point that isn't absolutely necessary and use the control points more effectively.

I did get rid of the excess white, didn't I?

Not really. And while this is getting a little picky, there are applications where it will make a difference, such as with vinyl cutting. Please note the screen shots below. The first one highlights the inner "white" part of the apple. See how it extends inside the red area? You can use Pathfinder to remove the excess, so it matches the red shape [screen shot 2].

Mmmm. Cleaner.

[CrickettGrrrl]

Thank you RCurrie for the helpful link, very interesting and gives needed focus!

[cclloyd]

I actually did pathfinder it, I just uploaded the older one by accident :P

I will also try less anchors on the right apple, and upload it later today.